Utah women’s soccer announces Hideki Nakada as new head coach

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah Director of Athletics Mark Harlan has named Hideki Nakada as the next head coach of the Utes’ women’s soccer team.

“I am thrilled to introduce Hideki Nakada as the new leader of our women’s soccer program,” said Harlan. “He has played a significant role in the success of one of the premiere programs in the nation, including two national championships, and brings a wealth of international experience. It was evident very quickly in our search that he rose to the top with his experience and his vision for comprehensive excellence. His knowledge of the Pac-12 and his familiarity with our program, our campus and the Salt Lake community, equip him to energize our program and elevate the experience for our student-athletes at Utah. I want to thank Deputy AD/COO Charmelle Green and Associate AD Liz Prince for conducting a thorough search that led us to such a quality individual as Hideki.”

Nakada, a former goalkeeper, becomes just the third head coach in Utah soccer history as he takes helm of his own program for the first time after spending the past the past seven seasons at Stanford. He was an associate head coach the last three seasons after being elevated on Feb. 23, 2018.

“I am incredibly humbled to have been entrusted to lead the soccer program with such tremendous potential at the University of Utah,” said Nakada. “I would like to thank Director of Athletics Mark Harlan, Deputy AD/COO Charmelle Green, Associate AD Liz Prince and the rest of the search committee for providing me with this amazing opportunity to join this special University. It is an exciting time to be at The U, and I am determined to take this program to the next level.”

In his seven years on The Farm, Nakada helped guide the Cardinal to two National Championships (2017, 2019) and five-consecutive Pac-12 Championships (2015-19). During his seven seasons, Stanford compiled a remarkable 132-15-10 overall record with a dominating 66-6-4 mark in the Conference of Champions with four College Cup appearances.

“I am forever indebted for my time at Stanford,” Nakada noted. “I can’t thank head coach Paul Ratcliffe, assistant coach Margueritte Aozasa and the rest of the support staff enough for everything they have done for me over the years to prepare me for this moment. Lastly, I need to thank all the wonderful student-athletes at Stanford who made the last seven years so incredibly special.”

The Cardinal won their third national title in 2019 thanks to their goalkeeper Katie Meyer, who saved two penalty kicks in the title-deciding shootout against No. 2 North Carolina. Stanford also set a school record that year with 102 goals while finishing with a 24-1-0 record.

During Stanford’s second national title run, goalie Alison Jahansouz allowed just seven goals under the direction of Nakada. The 2017 squad also outscored opponents 91-8 while the Cardinal trailed a total of 8:59 minutes that season. Jahansouz’s seven goals allowed in 2017 ranked fifth in program history while the Cardinal’s .360 goals against average ranked fifth in the country that year. In 2018, she allowed just eight goals, which ranks eighth all-time, while the team’s GAA (.490) in 2018 ranked seventh in the NCAA.

While on staff, Nakada helped Stanford earn NSCAA Pacific Region Staff of the Year in 2016 and was named the 2015 NSCAA Pacific Region Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the Cardinal to a 19-2-2 overall record.

Prior to his time on The Farm, Nakada spent the 2013 season at Oregon as an assistant – serving as the team’s defensive coach and recruiting coordinator.

Nakada started his collegiate career at Idaho State (2006-08), where he spent three seasons, and led the Bengals to the 2006 Big Sky regular-season and tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to his stint at Idaho State, Nakada served as an assistant coach for the George Washington High School soccer team in San Francisco.

He then went on to Marquette for four seasons (2009-12) and helped guide the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament each year he was there. He also mentored Natalie Kulla to BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team all-league honors back-to-back years (2010-11). She finished her career as the program’s all-time shutouts leader (43) and ranked first in career goals against average (.740). In his final year, the Golden Eagles tallied 19 wins – including a school-record 17 shutouts – to claim its fourth-consecutive BIG EAST American Division Championship and first-ever BIG EAST Tournament Championship.

Nakada played soccer at the University of San Francisco for two season (2001-02) and earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2005.